Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount grabbed second-half goals to get Manchester United back on track in the Premier League with a battling 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
Ruben Amorim’s critics quickly returned after United slipped to an abject loss at home to 10-man Everton on Monday to end an encouraging five-match unbeaten run.
When Jean-Philippe Mateta broke the deadlock in the 36th-minute with a retaken penalty, after he hit the ball twice with his first effort, Palace boss Oliver Glasner looked set to inflict more misery on Amorim.
However, Amorim watched Zirkzee get off the mark this season and score his first league goal since December with a fine low finish after 54 minutes and Mount’s curled effort nine minutes later completed the turnaround.
After an initial response by Palace, United held on relatively comfortably to make it four wins in seven to move into the top-half and only four points off rivals Manchester City.
United’s mini resurgence under Amorim had been halted against Everton and he switched the full-backs in his much-maligned 3-4-2-1 formation at Selhurst Park.
Up against a Palace team in the same set-up, the visitors started brightly and Casemiro could have scored within 60 seconds, but Dean Henderson blocked his close-range effort.
Mateta soon started to terrorise the United backline with a shot sent wide after Matthijs de Ligt’s clearance hit team-mate Leny Yoro.
Adam Wharton – one of three recalled after Thursday’s loss at Strasbourg – had already fired a half-volley straight at Senne Lammens before Palace upped the ante.
Not long after Daichi Kamada struck weakly at Lammens, United were indebted to Yoro’s outstanding block to deny the impressive Yeremy Pino.
The Palace pressure was relentless and
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